ICC likely to scrap Test Championship: Report

The inaugural edition of the World Test Championship, which is scheduled to be held in England in 2017, is unlikely to take place after reports emerged that the broadcasters and sponsors have shown a lukewarm response towards the event.

According to a report on The Guardian, the International Cricket Council (ICC) is planning to scrap the event by the end of this month because sponsors and broadcasters are not interested due to the uncertainty of the format.

"The World Test Championship, which was to be held in England in the summer of 2017, is expected to be laid quietly to rest by the end of the month," The Guardian claimed.

"It will be the second and probably last time that the idea of a play-off between the top teams in the International Cricket Council's world Test rankings has been shelved, because sponsors and broadcasters remain lukewarm, at best, about the uncertainty which inevitably surrounds the format," stated the report.

The ICC, on October 12th last year, had announced that the qualification period for the event, which replaced the Champions Trophy, would be from May 1st 2013 to December 31st 2016 and the top four teams at the conclusion of the qualification period would qualify for the Championship in 2017.

"The objective of the championship is to preserve the primacy of Tests and to preserve the future of all formats of the game," ICC chief executive David Richardson had said at the launch of the Championship which was originally planned for 2013 but delayed because broadcasters wanted a limited overs event.

However, with the broadcasters not showing any interest towards the Test Championship and India's Champions Trophy victory last year generating a lot of viewer interest, the cricket governing body is likely to revive the 50-over tournament.

The other complications with the Test championship is that the four-team format creates a situation where the host country may not qualify and also the broadcasters will be left with only three matches to work with - the semi-finals and the final - which makes it less lucrative on both fronts.

The final decision will be taken by the ICC top brass during the meeting at the end of this month, and with indications that the tournament is unlikely to take off, it will be a big blow to the five-day format.